Folding hopper and supporting-frame therefor.



P. O. GROSE.

FOLDING HOPPER AND SUPPORTING FRAME THEREFOR.

APPLICATION TILED P33. 6, 1913,

1,069,41 5. Patented Aug-5, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES INVENTOR 1/ Parlee C,.Gro e W w M g; ATTORNEYS COLUMBIAPLANDURAPH 110., WASHINGTON, D4 c P. G. GROSE.

FOLDING HOPPER AND SUPPORTING FRAME THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6; 1913.

1,069,415, Patented Aug. 5, 1 913.

.2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITH/E8858 INVENTOR Parlee C. Grose COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.,WAsHINGTON.D. c.

UNTTED @TATES PATENT @FFHJE,

PARLEE CLYDE GROSE, OF BLANCHARD TOWNSHIP, HANCOCK COUNTY, OHIO.

FOLDING HOPPER AND SUPPORTING-FRAME THEREFOR.

Application filed February 6, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PARLEE C. Gnosn, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Blanchard township, McComb P. 0., in the county of Hancockand State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Folding Hopper andSupporting-Frame Therefor, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

My invention has particularly for its design the production of a hopperthat will have special usefulness on the farm. The uses to which thehopper may be put on the farm are many, perhaps the chief of which is inthe corn-growing regions, where more or less husking is performed in theopen field, with a husking pin or the like. It is customary for thehusker to stand at a pile of fodder and to throw the husked ears severalfeet away to a pile, with the result that considerable corn is shelled,particularly in years when the kernels loosen easily; thus aconsiderable quantity of corn leaves the ears and is lost, being left onthe field when the ears are picked up. Also when thrown upon the pile,as referred to, the ears are scattered more or less, and after theentire shock is husked considerable time is lost in gathering thedistant ears and placing them upon the pile.

An object of my invention is to provide a hopper and supporting frametherefor, readily portable and of light construction, and by the use ofwhich, when the hopper is placed near the pile of stalks and lowered toa short distance above the ground, both the shelling of the kernels andthe scattering of the ears will be reduced to a minimum, therebypreventing a very material loss of corn and time. Again; by the use ofmy improved hopper and frame, and employing a few ordinary grain bags,or one large one specially made, the corn may be bagged as it is husked.When hauling the husked corn from the field to the crib, the bags can beemptied directly into the wagon, or placed in a wagon and emptieddirectly into the crib; thus the time required to gather the corn ofeach pile in baskets or other receptacles before emptying into the wagonmay be saved, as well as a reduction made in the time of unloading atthe crib. Furthermore, in early spring or late fall, especially when thesurface of the ground is liable to freeze slightly during the night andthen thaw out and make the ground sticky and Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Au. 5,1913.

Serial No. 746,558.

muddy during the day, the bags thus utilized will keep the ears clean,which otherwise is often impossible. Furthermore, by thus making itconvenient to collect the corn in bags, husking may proceed even inthreatening weather, since even although the filled and tied bags becovered with snow, they can be hauled the next day with the corn butlittle affected. The construction of the hopper also makes it availablefor use when husking in the barn, or under cover, so that the hopperwill direct the corn into baskets or other receptacles to be dumped intothe crib. Time is also saved, since the hopper makes it unnecessary forthe husker to exercise so much care in throwing the ears to one point.The hopper is capable also of use in filling bags with small grain.

The distinguishing features of my invention, and the importantstructural elements characterizing the preferred embodiment which isillustrated as an example will he more particularly explained in thespecific description hereinafter to be given.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specifi cation, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hopper and supporting frametherefor, embodying my invention, and including also a supported bag towhich the hopper delivers; Fig. 2 is a front view of the frame in erectform; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on a plane corresponding with theline 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation of portions of theframe; Fig. 5 is a detail, in horizontal section, on the line 55 of Fig.2; Fig. 6 is a similar section on the line 66 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 is afragmentary perspective view showing a detail, and to be hereinafterreferred to.

In constructing a practical embodiment of my invention, the framecomprises supporting elements and hopper-carrying elements, the latterbeing slidable on the supporting elements. The standards 10 of thesupporting frame and other frame elements hereinafter mentioned may beof any desired cross sectional form. In addition to the standards 10,which are adapted to rest on the ground and constitute side members, anintermediate supporting leg 11 is provided,.

and connected with the standards 10 by spreader arms 12, which have aloose connection with the said standards, at the upper ends of thelatter, by any suitable means, preferably by interlocked eye-bolts 10,12. The spreader arms 12 are pivotally connected as at 13 with a runner13 having free sliding movement on the intermediate leg 11., Braces 14are pivotally connected as at 14 with the spreadearms 12, at pointsbetween the ends of the latter, the upper ends of the braces 14 beingpivotally connected with a collar 15, also sliding on the leg 11 andadapted to be secured by a set screw 16 or its equivalent.

The vertically adjustable frame for carrying the hopper is arranged tohave guided sliding movement on the standards 10, said sliding framecomprising side members 17 arranged alongside of and parallel with thesaid standards, an upper cross bar composed of sections 18, 18 pivotedto each other and to the side bars 17, as hereinafter described, andfront and rear bottom cross bars, the fro-nt'cross bar being composed ofsections 19 and the rear cross bar being composed of sections 20 saidsections being pivotally connected with each other and with the sidebars 17. Collars 21 are secured, as at 21, to the lower end of each sidebar 17, and embrace the standards 10, and similar collars 22 are securedas at '24, to the upper ends of the side bars 17 and also embrace thestandards 10, the collars serving to give a sliding guided movement tothe adjustable frame. The upper cross bar sections 18, 18*, arepivotally connected at their outer ends with the collars 22, as at 25,the said collars being in the form of straps which are continuedinwardly in the form of flanges 22 through which the fastening rivets ortheir equivalent, 24, as well as the pivots 25 are secured. The lowercollars 21 are similarly formed, and are pivoted as at 23 to the ends ofthe bottom cross bar sections 19, 20.

To secure the sliding frame on the standards in a given position, asuitable clamping means is provided; I have shown collars 26, which arerigidly secured to the side bars 17 of the sliding frame and embrace thestand ards 10, being continued forwardly, as at 27, and having fulcrumedthereon clamp levers 28 adapted to bind on the standards.

Braces are provided on the sliding frame at the bottom and serve also asa means to secure the hopper elements. Thus there are front braces 29and rear braces 30, pivotally connected at their lower ends as at 31,32, to the front cross bar sections 19 and rear cross bar sections 20 ofthe bottom frame, said braces inclining upwardly and outwardly to apivotal connection with the side bars 17 of the sliding frame. Theconnection with the side bars 17 is established by collars 35, havingsliding movement on said side bars, and bolts 36 having thumb nuts 36,said bolts passing through the upper ends of the braces 29, 30, andthrough flanges or continued ends 35 on the collars 35, said collars inthe illustrated construction being in the form of straps bent around thebars 17. The front cross bar sections 19 are pivotally connected witheach other, as at 37, and the rear cross bar sections 20 are pivotallyconnected with each other as at 38. Between a front cross bar section 19and a rear cross bar section 20 are spacing sleeves 33 through whichbolts 34 pass.

To constitute the hopper, a sheet 39 of canvas is secured in the slidingframe, the upper end of the canvas being secured detachably by suitablemeans, such as cords 40. At the lower end the canvas sheet 39 issuitably attached to the rear cross brace members 30, by tying orotherwise, and to the front inclined brace 29 a substantially triangularpiece 41 of canvas is pivotally secured as by cords 41 to constitute thefront of the hopper. The said front braces, it will be observed, are ofangular form, be ing offset at the upper ends as at 29 from the rearbrace members 30, and between said front and rear braces a hopper bottomis secured and may consist of sections 42 of canvas, metal, or othersuitable material. The bottom sections 42 extend from the upper offsetends 29 of the braces downwardly and inwardly, the lower ends of thebottom sections being spaced apart any suitable distance to provide anoutlet opening for the hopper.

On the bottom cross bar sections 19, 20 of the sliding hopper frame Iprovide means for holding a bag A; preferably said means consists ofhooks 43 secured by the bolts 34, or their equivalent. In connectionwith the bag-holding hooks 43, additional means for gripping the bag isprovided, consisting of a cam lever 44 pivoted on an arm of one frontcross bar section 19, adjacent to the meeting ends of said cross barsections. The lever 44 coacts with the forwardly extending arm 46 whichmay be formed on a bracket 47. lVith the mouth of the bag engaged withthe hooks 43, as shown in Fig. 1, the loose intermediate portions of thebag at the front are gathered and brought between the arm 46 and the camlever 44, so that upon rocking said lever the entered portions of thebag will be tightly gripped. To secure the canvas front 41, the bracemembers 29 have suitable holes 29 (Fig. 2). Similar holes are formed inthe brace members 30 for receiving an attaching cord or thread for thelarge canvas 39.

With the frame erect and provided with the hopper as shown in Fig. 1, itwill be obvious that in husking corn the device may be placed near thepile of stalks and the husked ears thrown by the husker against thecanvas sheet 39 which forms a broad stop surface, so that there will belittle eX- cuse for the husker not throwing the ear against the canvas.As the leg 11 and the members 12 and 14: sit rearwardly on an inclinefrom the canvas, the throwing of the ear will not result in shelling thecorn. The successive ears fall from the sheet 89 and drop to the bottomsections 42 of the hopper, to escape therebetween. hen a bag A is notemployed, the hopper-carrying frame is lowered by manipulating thelevers 28, so that the hopper bottom will be sufli ciently close to theground to prevent the corn from being shelled as the ears drop to theaccumulating pile. If the bag A be employed the ears will drop directlythereinto.

By the tightening of the thumb nuts 36 on the bolts 86 when the frame iserect with the levers 28 securely clamping the sliding frame inposition, the structure will be held rigid and against collapsing; whenit is desired to collapse the frame with or without the hopper, thethumb nuts 36 are loosened and the bottom frame caused to break upwardon the pivots 37, 38. The top cross bar formed of the sections 18, 18 isthen also caused to break upward, and the set screw 16 of the collar 15is loosened, whereby the structure can be collapsed by simply bringingthe standards 10 together, the leg 11 folding into approximate parallelism with the standards 10, owing to the loose hinge connection 10 12To permit the sections 18, 18 to break upwardly and fold, they may bepivoted as at 18 by a horizontal pin, and one section extends be yondthe pivot as at 18, and terminates in a laterally curved arm 18 to bearupon the opposite section when the sections are in alinement, in theerect position of the frame,

The described construction affords a practical means for carrying myinvention into effect, and I would state in conclusion that I do notlimit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated,since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire tosecureby Letters Patent:

1. A folding hopper and folding support therefor, comprising acollapsible frame, and a hopper carried by the frame, the said hopperhaving a flexible back and front and a bottom having an outlet, thefront and back being adapted to collapse in response to the collapsingof the frame and the back rising above the front and constituting a stopfor material directed against the same.

2. A folding hopper-support, comprising a main collapsible frame, havingside members, and members uniting said side and pivotally connectedtherewith, and an auxiliary frame having vertical sliding support on themain frame and constituting a hopper-support, said auxiliary frame beingformed of collapsible members and both frames being collapsible inunison.

3. A folding support for a hopper of the character described, comprisinga main frame formed of collapsible members, and an auxiliary collapsibleframe formed of foldable members and having guided movement on the mainframe, the two frames being collapsible in unison, and the auxiliaryframe having foldable hopper-carrying members.

f. A folding hopper and folding support therefor, comprising acollapsible support, a flexible sheet on said support forming the backof the hopper, a hopper front at the lower end of the flexible sheet,and spaced forwardly therefrom, a hopper bottom, and collapsibleelements on said support at the lower end of said sheet, and formingframe members for the said hopper front, hopper bottom, and for thelower end of the sheet forming the back.

A hopper and a support therefor, comprising a frame, and a hopper havinga bottom, a front, and a back, the back being in the form of a flexiblesheet spread on said frame and held thereto and rising a materialdistance abo-ve the front of the hopper.

6, The herein-described hopper-support, comprising spaced side membersfoldable toward and from each other, folding cross bars uniting saidmembers, a pivoted leg at the back of said support, and folding membersconnecting the leg with the side members, said support having means forsecuring a hopper thereon.

7. The herein-described hopper-support, comprising side standardsfoldable toward and from each other, folding transverse members unitingsaid standards, a vertically-adjustable, collapsible frame on thestandards, and a collapsible hopper carried by said adjustable frame.

8. The herein-described collapsible support for a hopper, comprisingside members, cross bars composed of articulated members uniting theside members, a leg, and spreader members movably connected with theside members and leg to collapse with the side members and articulatedcross bars.

9. The herein-described collapsible support for a hopper, comprisingside members, cross bars composed of articulated members uniting theside members, a leg, spreader arms movably connected with the sidemembers and leg respectively to collapse with v the side members andcross bars, and braces pivotally connected at the ends with the leg andspreader arms, one end connection of said braces being slidable.

10. The herein-described collapsible support for a hopper, comprisingspaced standards, cross bars composed of articulated members uniting thestandards, a leg at the back of the standards, spreader arms connectedat their upper ends with the upper ends of the standards to wing forwardand back and toward and from the standards, the said spreader armsconverging toward their lower ends, a runner sliding on the leg andpivotally connected with the lower ends of the spreader arms, a slidingcollar on the leg above the runner, means for fastening the collar in afixed position, and braces pivoted to the said collar at their upperends and diverging downwardly, the lower ends of the braces beingpivoted to the spreader arms, between the ends of the latter.

11. The herein-described support for hoppers, comprising an opencollapsible frame, means to support a hopper bottom, a hopper back and ahopper front thereon, a leg at the back of said frame, and spreader armsconnected at their lower ends with the frame, at the sides, to swingforward and back and toward and from said sides, and pivotally andslidably connected with the said leg.

12. The herein-described support, comprising a collapsible main frame, acollapsible auxiliary frame adjustably mounted on the main frame andhaving means for securing a hopper back thereto, and means to hold ahopper front and a hopper bottom, said last mentioned means includingarticulated cross bars and spaced front and rear brace members pivotallyconnected with said articulated cross bars, and slidably connected withthe auxiliary frame, at the side of the latter, the braces having meansto hold them against movement relatively to the sides of the auxiliaryframe.

13. The herein described support, comprising standards and an auxiliaryframe sliding on said standards, the auxiliary frame comprising sidemembers, an articulated upper cross bar uniting the side members, frontand rear bottom cross bars uniting the side members and each composed ofarticulated members, and front and rear spaced brace members connectedwith each side member of the auxiliary frame and connected with therespective members of the front and rear articulated bottom cross bar,the means for connecting the braces with the side members of theauxiliary frame consisting of collars slidable on the said side members,bolts pivotally connecting the braces with the collars, and nuts on saidbolts adapted to hold the braces against movement to prevent thecollapsing of the support.

14. A collapsible support for a hopper, comprising side members andupper and lower cross bars articulated to collapse, and elementsassociated with the lower cross bar members, said elements constitutingbraces between the lower cross bar member and the side members, andhaving means for holding hopper members.

15. A collapsible support for a hopper, comprising a folding framehaving side members and collapsible connecting members and adapted toreceive a hopper bottom having an outlet and a hopper front at the lowerend, and means located above the front for holding a hopper back on saidsupport, the side members being collapsible toward each other and theconnecting members having pivotal movement relatively to the sidemembers and collapsible therewith.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

PARLEE CLYDE GROSE.

WVitnesses:

J. FRANK HIoKERsoN, WILLIAM KOONTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

